LEAD - in pipes; in your pants; In Lipstick???

Yes, unfortunately lead is in lipstick. Does that concern you? Well, if you're a man ...or a woman who doesn't use lipstick...not to worry.

What about the rest of us lipstick-users?

Yes, yes, yes!!! We should be very much concerned.

Ladies, think of how many times in your life you have applied lipstick to your mouth. Each time a little bit of lead is entering your body. You are in all senses of the word eating it.

Glamour magazine wrote that we ingest about four pounds of lead in a lifetime through the use of lipstick.

Lead poisoning has always been a problem for humans. More than 2000 years ago an engineer warned Julius Caesar about the danger of transporting city water in lead pipes. Lead poisoning led to Beethoven's chronic illness and some think it contributed to his death.

Lead in our bodies will mimic other biologically important metals such as iron. calcium and zinc thus interfering with normal biological processes. It has also been shown to hamper learning and brain development.

It interferes with the production of red blood cells and can lead to anemia. Other symptoms of lead poisoning include constipation, diarrhea, metallic taste in the mouth and rapid weight loss.

There has been a general outcry to the FDA to take steps in dealing with the problem but as of today the Cosmetic industry is pretty much policing itself ... like the fox guarding the hen house.

To learn more you can go to this site: www.safecosmetics.org.

Because of the work of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics the FDA finally tested lipstick and released a study in 2009 showing that yes, there was lead in all samples that it had tested. The highest levels were made by : Procter & Gamble (Cover Girl) , L'Oreal , Maybelline and Revlon.

However, as of today no action has been taken to protect consumers.

A new study in Environmental Health Perspectives, showed that scientists detected "concerning" levels of chromium, cadmium, and manganese in popular lipsticks and glosses. This means that your favorite shade of lipstick could be raising your risk of dangerous diseases and organ damage.

People who apply and reapply lipstick and/or gloss several times a day could ingest excessive levels of chromium, a heavy metal linked to stomach tumors.

This isn't the first time heavy metals have turned up in lipstick. In recent years, the Food and Drug Administration found lead in hundreds of lipstick samples tested. Because lead and other heavy metals are considered a contaminant and not an ingredient, it doesn't have to be listed on the label.

That's a perfect example of the "letter of the law" and how it can work against us.